I've been fishing with senkos a lot lately and really am loving them and my favorite rig so far is weightless Texas rig. This is about my senkos but applies to any Texas rig. When you skin hook the bait for a seedless set up, pretty much after the first bite the hook rips through and I can't get it back into the now roped bait. I might be doing something wrong but how can I make these baits last longer because a pack of senkos are decently expensive and my favorite color of anything around here is chartreuse and I have to drive an hour to buy chartreuse senkos, Thank ya'll for the help!
Rotate the worm and re-hook works some and so does bitting a little off the top. Screw lock hooks might help too.
I haven't tried it but what about melting the rip with a lighter to re-seal it for a fresh skin hook?
I've experienced the same thing and do the following in order as the worm wears-out
1. re-hook deeper under skin
2. rotate and re-hook
3. trim off tip 1/4" and re-hook
4. deeper skin hook
5. rotate and hook
6. Discard and replace
I would say if you can't make any other style stick bait work for you invest in a mold and injector. As you wear out bait save them, melt , and pour. Might save a lil bit. There are a couple sites where you can find Yamamoto senkos for cheap but you got to be on top of it the good colors sell fast.
I've found that if you get a EWG hook that has a longer shank before the offset occurs, this will help keep the upper portion of the senko intact a bit longer.
If you keep snagging and the senko starts to wear out, you can do that quarter turn thing like others have suggested, but if you catch fish, it's just not going to last. I would recommend finding a few colors you like, then buying them in bulk when they go on sale. You can always try the knock-offs which work well, but they typically don't seem to be saturated with as much salt as a senko- which isn't necessarily a bad thing either.
You have a choice to make!
You can have lures in your tackle box or you can have bass in your livewell... You can not have both!
One given when fishing plastics is ya gonna tear em up!
We try to minimize the number of plastics we tear up but we accept the fact they will get torn up.
Personally I've been just buying packs of senkos when every I run out and keeping all my ripped bad ones in a zip lock. When winter rolls around I'll make a mold of a Senko and melt down my ripped ones and repour them myself and I hopefully won't be needing to buy packs of senkos for a while again.
I go through Senkos faster than any other bait, except maybe Strike King dreamshots. The only way I know to make them last longer is to wacky rig them with an O ring.
When I do texas rig them they don't last long so I carry ziplock baggies with me to save the tattered ones. I then cut them in half to use on drop shot and ned rigs.
Since I began using the Owner Twistlock hooks, I find I get a lot more mileage out of a Senko. I also throw all the torn up ones in a bag and take them back home at the end of the day and repair the ones I can with Mend-It.
On 9/30/2016 at 7:30 PM, BareHook said:I haven't tried it but what about melting the rip with a lighter to re-seal it for a fresh skin hook?
I've experienced the same thing and do the following in order as the worm wears-out
1. re-hook deeper under skin
2. rotate and re-hook
3. trim off tip 1/4" and re-hook
4. deeper skin hook
5. rotate and hook
6. Discard and replace
^^ This ^^
I would only add that I'll also flip the bait around, cut off the tip, and start over again with the other end. With this method, usually a fish will rip the bait apart long before I "use up" the bait.
Good luck!
I keep all my old senkos I used with a T-rig then use them on a Wacky rig. I cuss more when I lose one of them more than when I lose a fish!
I catch about 4 fish (sometimes less) and it's junk. I relocate the hook, swap ends then wacky rig it. I hate them but they work so good I keep buying more.
"Senko" "durability" - two words in the English language that should never be used together I believe they're called 'oxymorons.' BareHook listed the options...
-T9
On 9/30/2016 at 9:59 PM, Oklahoma Mike said:Since I began using the Owner Twistlock hooks, I find I get a lot more mileage out of a Senko. I also throw all the torn up ones in a bag and take them back home at the end of the day and repair the ones I can with Mend-It.
bam. this is step #1
step #2: get over this celestial belief in a rubber worm. go fish the bleep out of knock off worms till you're the man: when you are catching bass on senkos put them away and hook on a generic, marvel as you continue to catch bass. when bass aren't biting a senko take it off and hook on a generic, marvel when they won't bite that either.
step #3: give away all ur leftover packs of senkos to ur buddies and tell them you don't need them anymore b/c you've switched to generics. watch as they gaze at you like a god
On 9/30/2016 at 11:53 PM, Team9nine said:"Senko" "durability" - two words in the English language that should never be used together I believe they're called 'oxymorons.' BareHook listed the options...
-T9
This. GCYB senkos are so darn fragile and expensive that I only use them in tournaments, otherwise I just use a knock off like a dinger. I usually only get one or maybe two fish per senko, but one way to save senkos is after the tip gets torn up (if you're lucky enough to still have the senko attached to your hook) from t-rigging, wacky rig them so you might be able to get another fish out of it.
On 9/30/2016 at 7:30 PM, BareHook said:I haven't tried it but what about melting the rip with a lighter to re-seal it for a fresh skin hook?
I've experienced the same thing and do the following in order as the worm wears-out
1. re-hook deeper under skin
2. rotate and re-hook
3. trim off tip 1/4" and re-hook
4. deeper skin hook
5. rotate and hook
6. Discard and replace
Can i add one more maybe #5.5 . Use the damage senko for wacky rig with either o-ring or heated shrink tube.
I do this to all my plastic. Either trim deeper hook and then change hook style. I even show my friend which he throw away senko after it unhookable I kept those and still catch a couple more fish. Now he never throw away those expensive senko.
All of the above, with the exception of Yum Dingers. They just don't do it for me. Not saying they're bad baits, I just never catch anythign on them when I Texas rig them like a Senko. They just aren't as heavy . I have had good luck with Stik-o's and I definitely need to try the Sassy sticks. Senko's are like crack. Yeah, they'll kill you but it feels so good! Lol
I don't mind if they wear fast if I am catching on them, but it drives me nuts to have to retire one that wore out just being cast and retrieved.
I do save broken ones to repair with Mendit, I found that turning a rip into a clean cut with a razor really helps the stuff make a good bond. I also save badly damaged ones that are >4' to nose hook and throw them when fishing in small rivers.
Thank you for all the help and none of the baits feel the same as a real senko but I like the field and stream brand stick baits. I think I'll just buy senkos to fill a box then just keep those for tournaments when I get my boat together and then get a box of the 2 dollar ones that are my second favorite.
Cabelas version of the Senko, the Go-To Stickbait has a built in O-Ring that might help you with durability.
I know you want T-Rig for weedlessness, but if you want to try wacky rig, I use a rubber tube that helps Senkos last much longer. Like 7-8 trips and many bass with no loss of Senko sometimes. You might want to try it out.
On 10/1/2016 at 9:25 AM, Bunnielab said:I do save broken ones to repair with Mendit, I found that turning a rip into a clean cut with a razor really helps the stuff make a good bond.
Do you slice it into two pieces or just trim off the jagged parts?
On 10/2/2016 at 7:49 AM, Torn Thumb said:Do you slice it into two pieces or just trim off the jagged parts?
I generally cut the worm at the point of the rip. I find that to repair a torn middle a maybe 3/4" diagonal cut gives a good bond and to repair a torn nose, a cut maybe 1/16" past the tear works well. I also have a plastic bait tray from a pack of Keitech stick baits that I use as a splint/cradle to hold the senkos while the glue does it's thing.
I don't follow. Dense as lead. So do you cut it into 2 separate pieces or just make more easily mendable halves ??
All my used senkos are in the car currently, so here is an old hawg, but the idea is the same.
For nose damage, I split the nose inline with the direction of the tare.
For damage in the middle of the bait, I will make a clean diagonal cut to let the glue work on a greater surface area.
You need to find some way to support the cut while the glue sets for the long cuts. The worm will not be as strong as new but seems to last for a few dozen casts or a fish or two. I keep my used and repaired senkos in a small pencil case tucked in my tackle bag. They get used for skipping or throwing into snaggy looking cover.
That seems to be a bit too much work for another few dozen cast or 1-2 fish. I'd rather cut a portion of the tail (undamage) 2.5-3 inches and make it finesse drop shot bait.
zinkerz from zman - very soft and very durable -
On 9/30/2016 at 9:59 PM, Oklahoma Mike said:Since I began using the Owner Twistlock hooks, I find I get a lot more mileage out of a Senko. I also throw all the torn up ones in a bag and take them back home at the end of the day and repair the ones I can with Mend-It.
This is the hook I use also and also keep mend-it on hand--As mike said you will get a lot more mileage out of Senko's doing this
On 9/30/2016 at 7:30 PM, BareHook said:I haven't tried it but what about melting the rip with a lighter to re-seal it for a fresh skin hook?
I've experienced the same thing and do the following in order as the worm wears-out
1. re-hook deeper under skin
2. rotate and re-hook
3. trim off tip 1/4" and re-hook
4. deeper skin hook
5. rotate and hook
6. Discard and replace
+1
Also turn the senko around and hook it from the other end
I don't mind losing Senkos on bass but I lose most of mine on perch and googleyes. I have switched over to Twister Comidas. I still lose just as many but I catch just as many bass and for half the price.
thats why i buy yum dingers, 3 bucks a pack at academy...
SENKO ( I mean REAL GYCB ) and durability in the same sentence, ROFLMAO !!!!
On 10/4/2016 at 5:29 AM, Raul said:SENKO ( I mean REAL GYCB ) and durability in the same sentence, ROFLMAO !!!!
I feel that same exact response every time I hear there are days fish will only eat a GYCB.
On 10/4/2016 at 4:59 AM, 2tall79 said:I don't mind losing Senkos on bass but I lose most of mine on perch and googleyes. I have switched over to Twister Comidas. I still lose just as many but I catch just as many bass and for half the price.
The Mr. Twister Comida is a great choice!
Senkos are a 1 to 4 fish bait, and that's by using both ends as I usually can catch two bass per end. Invest in some mend it and you can probably get 10 fish or more per senko, just have to repair them after every use. I've used other soft sticks but by and far senkos just work much better, though some companies do make a senko style bait that's just as soft.
On 11/8/2016 at 6:58 PM, iceintheveins said:Senkos are a 1 to 4 fish bait, and that's by using both ends as I usually can catch two bass per end. Invest in some mend it and you can probably get 10 fish or more per senko, just have to repair them after every use. I've used other soft sticks but by and far senkos just work much better, though some companies do make a senko style bait that's just as soft.
Try this method. Your single Senko may last up to 20 trips.
Another way to avoid a lot of damage. Slather some Kickn' Bass attractant on the Senko before you put it on the hook. It's fish oil based so lubricates plastic baits to make them very slippery. When I use a Gamy wide gap hook and get a bite, the Senko ends up on the line above the hook most of the time. Unhook the fish, slide the Senko back on the hook. Repeat.
I always judge the day by how many torn up senkos I have in the bottom of my bag when I get home I usually bite the end off when it starts getting messed up, then flip them end for end, then I save them for wacky rigging.